The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

Nestled in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling Financial District stands a unique homage to the Mayan and Beaux Arts.

A 300-ship graveyard, with a few still visible at low tide.

Radioactivity still cause for concern at this urban explorer's paradise.

Recovered from the brink of extinction, at home in the Financial District.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.

A brooding mansion of clinker brick stands out among the Victorian houses of Pacific Heights.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

Barely visible foundations remain where Stow Lake’s “observatory” once welcomed visitors.

Appropriation-friendly collection of books, periodicals, and more.

Amazing meticulous gardens of personal wood carvings, Hydrangea, Canna, and many other flowers.

A famous alternative culture epicenter and where Joplin serenaded young hippies.

Gold Rush ship-turned-hotel buried underneath San Francisco's financial district.

A speck of nature and art in one of San Francisco’s most notorious neighborhoods.

The grand, column-fronted, sculpture-adorned home of the ambitious digital library.

Russian history in San Francisco.

Join the circus for a few lessons to learn clowning, acrobatics, and Chinese contortion.

An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass.

A modern mechanical planetary system, part of a 10,000 year clock.

The tea room that pushed the boundaries of adorable straight into...we can't find the words.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.